Ramen King

My husband and I ordered takeout from here after reading some pretty positive reviews and we’re sadly disappointed. $70 later and we’re less than satisfied.

Our order was put together quickly - 20 minutes on a Saturday. The first question out of his mouth when he picked it up was, “is this everything?”

The Sashimi was excellent - very generous, thick slices. Philly roll was good, standard Philly roll. Pork Fried Pot Sticker Dumplings were the biggest disappointment. The photos show large, round dumplings and what we got was small, crescent dumplings. To top that off, the meat inside tasted like an Italian sausage. Not what I was looking for. I would MAYBE try sushi here again but skip on the hot foods.
My favorite dish was the Stir Fried String Beans, until I realized we paid $17 for them.

I loved seeing the chef pull the noodles, it was an impressive technique.

The seafood stir fried noodles I had were delicious, shrimp and fish were cooked nicely not over. And I am really appreciative that they remove the shrimp tails, makes it easier to eat as a whole dish.

It was my first experience with soup xiao long bao and I really enjoyed it.

Another visit and more dishes to try. My opinion has not changed. Read below.

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This place opened up a few months ago with the name of “South Hills Seafood Kitchen” and featured a large selection of Sushi dishes. It got good reviews, but the owners and staff got some complaints that the name was misleading as people were expecting more fish dishes. So, they renamed the place to Ramen King and expanded the menu to feature many more Asian dishes – although Ramen in NOT on the menu!!! At least, that’s the story the staff told us when we visited them recently.

Whatever the story is, the place is clean, bright, and inviting. The staff is exceptionally friendly and open and the food is very tasty and much more interesting that the more run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurants that are all over within a five to ten mile radius of their location. For local residents, they occupy the space that used to be home to the combination Subway/Dairy Queen behind a gas station off of Rte 19 / Washington Rd.

The group of us decided to try multiple things to get a taste of their offerings. As soon as we sat down, we were presented with the house complimentary appetizer of pickled Daikons which were thinly slivered. Even though we saw Jalapeno slices, they were not significantly spicy, so if you are heat-averse, I would still urge you to taste them as they were very nice.

We then tried a couple of the sushi rolls. Those came on a large platter with a beautiful presentation (see pictures) as well as the normal pickled ginger and wasabi mounds. The sushi was judged exceptionally good by the crowd. We also tasted the stir-fried green beans which were done absolutely right. They maintained their crunch and the dry sauce they were in had just enough Umami and spice to elevate them. Their steamed dumplings came with the obligatory soy-sauce-based dipping sauce and while good, was probably the most pedestrian dish on the menu.

One of the fun things to do while waiting for your food was to observe the staff in the open kitchen as they work. Especially as they pull their own noodles! This is done in the traditional way with pulling them and then banging them on the work surface! So, of course, we had to try a couple of noodle dishes! Those were also very good. By the way, all the food came out very quickly. We did not have to wait long for any of it to come out even though when we arrived almost all of the tables were occupied.

Even though we were stuffed, their dessert menu features Sesame Balls – which are something that you only rarely find, so I ordered them. They were perfectly prepared and served fresh from the fryer. The red bean paste on the inside was warm and sweet and this was the perfect finish for the meal.

Given how much we ate and drank, we were pleasantly surprised to find out in the end that we spent less than $30 per person – including taxes and tip! We will definitely come back as we only began to scratch the surface of their expansive menu.

BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT IN SOUTH HILLS!! The food is authentic and the staff is super friendly!! The place is open and clean!! It’s a must eat at place in this area!! The price point is fair for the quality and quantity! Sushi was super fresh! The knife cut noodles is comparable to Hong Kong!! Taste even better than Everyday Noodles in Squirrel hill!!

Celebrated my birthday here today and was gifted bowl of birthday noodles! So yummy and fresh pulled noodles! Family enjoyed their sushi and soup dumplings. Owners and servers were so kind and accommodating for my elderly parents. Nice option for authentic Chinese if you do not want to travel to Squirrel Hill.